The construction of social memory in the press: narratives on the violence against the Unión Patriótica (1985–1990)

Abstract

This article presents the results of a research study on the relationship between social memory and press narratives, based on an analysis of journalistic coverage. The aim was to identify how the informational narratives constructed by the newspapers El Tiempo and El Espectador between 1985 and 1990 contributed—or not—to the configuration of a social memory regarding the extermination of the members of the Unión Patriótica. The methodology consisted of a documentary press analysis, based on content analysis with a qualitative approach. Informative units published during the specified period were examined, with special attention to the narrative conditions of their discursive construction. The findings show that the coverage did not generate content that would allow the phenomenon of violence to be understood from the lived experience of Colombians or to be projected toward the future. The narrative was limited, with scarce contextualization and poor representation of the victims. The study concludes that the journalistic approach did not contribute to a social memory oriented towards non-repetition or the recognition of victims. On the contrary, the media narrative delegitimized their experiences by focusing on violent events without delving into life stories. This form of representation fostered the normalization of violence and the trivialization of death, undermining the possibility of constructing a collective memory that transcends ideological confrontation and is rooted in the country’s territorial realities.